Give Yourself First of All to the Lord
(2Co8:1-5)
God is the Redeemer.
He made all things by His word and is their Creator, and
He paid the highest price to purchase souls and is their Redeemer.
A savior refers to someone who rescues from a dire situation,
While a redeemer is someone who pays a price and becomes an owner.
Faith is knowing one's worth, and
The life of this faith is willingly giving oneself that has the greatest worth to the Owner.
Deceived by the serpent, Adam sinned and
Thus all men fell and became slaves to the devil,
The children of wrath, bound for hell with the devil (Ge3:4-6; Mt25:41; Eph2:2; 2Pe2:19).
Nevertheless, God's work of paying a great price and making men His possession,
His redeeming work began when
He paid the price of the blood of the Passover lamb and
Made Israel His people who had been slaves of Egypt (Ex3:8, 19:6).
The Law that He gave them was about redeeming possessions:
1. The first crop, the firstborn livestock, the firstborn males, tithes ” all belonged to God (Ex13:12; Lev27:26);
2. Nothing that a person devotes to the Lord may be sold or redeemed ” no person devoted to destruction may be ransomed for they are to put both to death (Lev27:1, 28-29; Jos11:30-31);
3. A person may redeem any of his tithe when he adds a fifth of its value to it (Lev27:31).
The sanctuary was where the priests gave sacrifice and
The priesthood was limited to the sons of Aaron (Ex29:44),
Though if anyone had any defect or flaw he was eliminated (Lev21:17-23).
As time passed, however, the priests insulted God
By giving defiled sacrifice and
God considered this contemptible and cursed them for it (Mal1:10).
Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days (Jn2:19), because
Through the death and the resurrection of the temple of His body,
He would give Himself first to the Father perfectly for once for
He is the One and Only God who was with the Father in the beginning (Jn1:1, 14, 18), who
Came in the flesh as the Son of Man (Mt20:28).
As He died, Jesus said, "It is finished (Jn19:30), declaring that He:
1. Willingly laid down His life to acknowledge that the Father alone is the Redeemer who paid the highest price of the blood of the Son to make an eternal possession of all men (Jn10:17; He9:25-26; Rev5:9-10);
2. Condemned the devil who stole men (Ge3:4; Jn10:8; 1Jn3:8); and
3. Paid the price of His own blood and purchased the souls of all men to become their eternal Owner (1Pe1:18-19).
The Father raised Him and Jesus ascended to the heavenly sanctuary, and He is the Redeemer.
The Holy Spirit comes to those who received the blood of Jesus and
Lets them know that they are souls purchased by His blood
Thus there is nothing worth more in this world than their souls.
The Christian is he who
Cherishes his soul more than anything in this world.
He can neither return to the world nor take his own life for
He was sold at the highest price of the blood of Jesus so
He has nothing to ransom himself with.
Therefore, he puts every effort to give himself for of all to the Lord ”
The flawed, unclean, incapable and ill self.
O Lord,
You purchased us,
The children of wrath bound for hell, worth less than some properties
At the price of the flesh of the Only and Only Son!
Yeshua,
You are our Owner, our Redeemer!
Let us no longer mistreat our souls, ourselves and
Though we are lowly, foolish and incompetent
Let us give ourselves to You just as we are,
So receive us!
Amen.
